Did you know that 'pirouette' is actually French?

'Pirouette' is a word borrowed from French 'pirouette'. The word entered the English language some time around 1706.

pirouette [noun] [1706]

• a rapid whirling about of the body
• a full turn on the toe or ball of one foot in ballet

Meaning: a rapid whirling about of the body; a full turn on the toe or ball of one foot in ballet.

Etymology: French; literally; teetotum.

Topics: Arts:Dance.

Origin: From French to English.

note: Borrowed from French pirouette (spinning top) a term in dancing. It comes from the Gallo-Roman root *pir- (peg/plug) combined with the diminutive suffix -ette. It originally referred to a spinning top in the 15th century.

See 'pirouette' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from French.

See more loan words from 1700s.